Questions persist about standoff death of man, 107PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) — When the time came to move 107-year-old Monroe Isadore to a new home, police say he resisted and barricaded himself inside. Authorities tried using a camera to monitor him, along with negotiating tactics, and finally gas to get him to come out. None of it worked. So, a SWAT team went inside and was greeted by gunfire, authorities say. The team fired back, and Isadore died. The weekend confrontation raised a flurry of qu...

Letter: Ark. ethics panel investigating DarrLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Ethics Commission is investigating whether Lt. Gov. Mark Darr violated state law by classifying hundreds of dollars his campaign spent at restaurants, stores and gas stations after he took office as fundraising expenses, the panel's director said in a letter released over the weekend. The panel told lawyer and blogger Matt Campbell that it has begun probing Campbell's complaint against the Republican lieut...

SWAT officers kill 107-year-old man in standoffPINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) — Police in the southeast Arkansas city of Pine Bluff say a 107-year-old man is dead after SWAT officers shot back at him during a standoff at a home. Pine Bluff Lt. David Price tells KATV (http://bit.ly/17hlUlC ) that police officers called to the home Saturday were told Monroe Isadore had pointed a weapon at two people there. Officers had the threatened pair leave the home and approached a bedroom. Police say Isadore sh...

Arkansas pulls away from Samford, 31-21 LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen was able to placidly take a knee at the end of a 31-21 victory over Samford on Friday night, an ending that stood in contrast to two heartbreaking last-play losses in Little Rock last season. Allen threw for two touchdowns on 9 of 17 passing for 125 yards. But the Arkansas running game was what allowed the Razorbacks (2-0) to overcome a third-quarter 21-17 lead by Samford (1-1). Tailback Al...

Explosive device found in minivanROGERS (AP) — Authorities said a bomb squad defused a small explosive device that was found in a minivan in northwest Arkansas. Rogers Police said in a news release that the explosive device was discovered on Saturday morning after officers responded to a crash involving a car and a minivan. Police said the driver of the minivan initially fled, but returned after witnesses described hearing a gunshot. Authorities say the driver was bleeding at...

Boy, 5, dies after swimming tripHOT SPRINGS (AP) — Authorities say a 5-year-old boy has died after he may have slipped out of a life jacket while swimming in Arkansas. Garland County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Hinojosa said the agency was contacted Friday evening about a child that went missing at the Spillway Day Use area on Lake Ouachita. Hinojosa said the boy was swimming with a life jacket and possibly slipped out of it and went underwater. A relative found the boy a short t...

Little Rock police investigate shooting death LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock police are investigating a fatal shooting on the city’s south side. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Cassandra Davis said officers were called to a shooting on Mabelvale Pike early Saturday morning. Davis said when the officers arrived, they found Stephen Morrison, 23, with at least one gunshot wound to his torso. Police said Morrison was taken a local hospital where he later died. Authorities said they’re working to iden...

Tony Alamo followers fill Texarkana court TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — Close to 100 members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries showed up in Texarkana for a hearing to address claims to properties a federal judge previously ruled can be sold. The Texarkana Gazette reported some of the members testified during Friday’s hearing. The ministry members want a federal judge to rethink an order giving the green light to sell six Fort Smith, Ark., properties associated with Tony Alamo to partially s...

Pryor to oppose military action against Syria LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor on Saturday said he’s opposed to taking military action against Syria, splitting with the White House and his Republican challenger as a vote on the president’s request to intervene heads to a skeptical Congress. The two-term senator from Arkansas said he cannot support the resolution that’s expected to go before lawmakers in the next week to intervene against Syria, which U.S. officials say k...

Temps could hit 100 again before fallLITTLE ROCK (AP) — While the temperature reached 100 only twice at Little Rock this year, forecasters said Friday there is a chance readings could hit the century mark again — perhaps this weekend — before trending downward in the fall. “It’s not completely out of the question,” said John Robinson, the warning coordinator meteorologist at the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. “It wouldn’t absolutely surprise me if it happened over...

Girl recovering from rare infection can swimLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A 12-year-old Arkansas girl who has been recovering from a rare and often-fatal brain infection went swimming for the first time since she got sick. Kali (KAY’-lee) Hardig went swimming Friday at a pool at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. That marks a milestone because health officials believe Kali became sick after a trip to an Arkansas water park this summer. The brain-eating amoeba that caused Kali’s infection is often found...

7 file to run for state Senate seat LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Four Democrats and three Republicans filed by Friday’s deadline to run for a northeast Arkansas state Senate seat vacated by a legislator who resigned after the state Ethics Commission said he spent thousands in campaign dollars on personal items. The seven candidates are running to fill the remainder of former Sen. Paul Bookout’s term. Bookout, a Democrat and former president of the state Senate, resigned last month after t...

Sheriff reverses course, says he will retireBENTON (AP) — An Arkansas sheriff who pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and public intoxication has reversed course once again and now says he will retire. Saline County Sheriff Bruce Pennington said in a letter dated Friday that he will retire effective Oct. 1. Pennington said the same thing on Aug. 30, but he later changed his mind and said he wanted to finish his term and run for re-election. Pennington didn’t immediately respond to a phon...

Ex-employee pleads guilty to fraud at museum NORTH LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A former official at the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame has pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge after auditors found a $118,300 hole. Jennifer W. Smith pleaded guilty to a single count of access device fraud. Sentencing guidelines suggest she’ll face about a year in prison. A plea agreement says Smith must make $70,000 in restitution in 45 days. Prosecutors said the 47-year-old abused a Hall of Fame credit card for ...

Searcy pushes back vote on solicitors SEARCY (AP) — Searcy city leaders say they will wait until next year to vote on a proposal that could reduce the number of solicitors allowed in the community. Mayor David Morris said Thursday the city can afford to wait since the fall and winter are approaching and the number of door-to-door solicitors will drop until spring. “With not as many solicitors out right now, it gives us ample time to look at how to have a good resolution,” Morris s...

Beebe staff member says he was carjacked LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The deputy chief of staff for Gov. Mike Beebe says he was beaten, robbed and carjacked in Little Rock early Thursday morning but police say they have different accounts of a crime. Police said Lamar Davis, 42, told officers that he was driving early Thursday when three men flagged him down, then beat him, took him to an ATM and robbed him. Also overnight, a woman called from a motel and told investigators she saw three men i...

New Texarkana manager is old Texarkana manager TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — The new city manager in Texarkana is the old city manager. Council members voted 4-2 Thursday night to rehire Harold Boldt — two months after approving a $162,000 severance package for him. “I think Boldt keeps coming back like a vulture to see what he did and then do it again,” Texarkana resident Augie Harder said at a public hearing on whether the city should rehire Boldt. In March, Boldt lost his temper with a citizen...

Simmons First bidding on other bank LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff has submitted a $16.9 million bid to acquire Metropolitan National Bank of Little Rock, which is being offered for sale through the bankruptcy of its holding company. A document detailing the bid was submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, Arkansas Business reported Thursday. Rogers Bancshares Inc. owns Metropolitan and is offering to sell Metropolitan...

Feds sending $5M for road work HEBER SPRINGS (AP) — A highway in central Arkansas will be getting $5 million in improvements as part of a $123 million federal program to fix rural roads. The U.S. Transportation Department announced Thursday that Arkansas’ portion of the money will go to road improvements and bridge replacements on Highway 92. The highway runs from Plumerville in Conway County to Heber Springs near Greers Ferry Lake. Roads in the region have been put under s...

1 killed in shooting at Stuttgart nightclub STUTTGART (AP) — Stuttgart police say they have had trouble obtaining information from people who may have witnessed holiday weekend violence that left one person dead and five others injured. The violence erupted early Sunday at Casey’s Warehouse, where police say Albert Goodloe, 32, died from a gunshot wound. Three of the injured had been shot, one was stabbed and one was beaten, the Stuttgart Daily Leader reported Thursday. Assistant Police...